Collet FCD Dies for Short Cartridges

[donhuff]

Ironhead,

Yes, that would probably be a problem for me on my 357 as I size it at .359 and have had a few times when the cartridge would not chamber easily with certain brass.

Do you see a real benefit with using the FCD over a roll crimp. Like if you could say that my groups shrank 1/2 inch, I might give one a try. I'm not saying I don't think they are not any good, I'm just curious if you could tell a difference right away.

As far as I know (and of course I know ignorance is bliss) roll crimping is working for me. But all I'm expecting the crimp to do is to hold the bullet in place..

Well dern it, I think I have talked myself into trying one. Cant hurt nothing, and will give me another "project" to work on.

[Ranch Dog]

The Lee Factory Crimp die does more than crimp for straight wall pistol cartridges. It uses an oversized carbide sizing ring that will insure the round will fit in the chamber.

The Carbide Factory Crimp Die does that but not the straight, old fashion, collet type FCD for rifles. Which ironhead7544 hits on below. In that this info in his post was in a single paragraph, I wanted to high light the difference in the two types of FCDs.

Howerver, with a cast bullet the bullet can be sized down a bit by the carbide ring. As we know, bullet fit can be a problem with cast bullets and an oversized diameter can be necessary for best accuracy and reduction of leading. The rifle type FCD for pistol cartridges wont change the bullet diameter. It will only collet crimp the bullet in place at the case mouth. May or may not be necessary depending on you gun's dimensions.

I use the factory crimp die on everything but match rifle loads.

[Ranch Dog]

The collet style Factory Crimp Die delivers a crimp via the collet. The collet segments move in horizontally to make contact and crimp the case. The design allows a bit of variation in the cartridge length and it is very easy adjust. Looking down through the die and the collet closes, you have provide all the crimp possible.

The major difference, for me, is that you are providing the crimp against the collet without any pressure being applied to the length of the case.

I also special ordered FCDs for my 454 Casull and 480 Ruger. Should have them in the next few weeks.

[donhuff]

Oh OK, that makes sense. I see that with the FCD, you would not get a bulged case from a heavy roll crimp on a slightly longer case. I have had this happen several times, and the bullet will not chamber without some force.

I guess that one could sand out the carbide insert to the desired size if desired eh. I bet that would take a while on the tungsten, but you would only be going a thousands or two. It actually is a good feature if you desire to make 100% reliable feeding ammo.

[ironhead7544]

Oh OK, that makes sense. I see that with the FCD, you would not get a bulged case from a heavy roll crimp on a slightly longer case. I have had this happen several times, and the bullet will not chamber without some force.

I guess that one could sand out the carbide insert to the desired size if desired eh. I bet that would take a while on the tungsten, but you would only be going a thousands or two. It actually is a good feature if you desire to make 100% reliable feeding ammo.

Good point. You can custom ream the die to just fit your gun.

[Ranch Dog]

Oh OK, that makes sense. I see that with the FCD, you would not get a bulged case from a heavy roll crimp on a slightly longer case. I have had this happen several times, and the bullet will not chamber without some force.

I guess that one could sand out the carbide insert to the desired size if desired eh. I bet that would take a while on the tungsten, but you would only be going a thousands or two. It actually is a good feature if you desire to make 100% reliable feeding ammo.

Don, just to make sure you understand that you are talking about two different dies. It seems that you are talking about the standard, collet style, FCD in the first paragraph. The second paragraph is specific to the Carbide FCD. These two dies have nothing in common with each other than Lee's decision to call them both FCDs.

It gets even more confusing when you throw in the Bottlenecked Pistol FCD. It has nothing in common with the other pistol die, the Carbide FCD, but uses the collet found in the standard FCD. That collet is inverted and actuates against the top inside the of die so it will work with short cartridges. The "Bottlenecked" portion of the name is a misnomer as well as it can be used for short straight wall cartridges. I had some samples build for the subject cartridges and they are very slick. The shorted the collet body length gets, the stiffer the action of the collet is. That is solved by the Bottlenecked Pistol FCD

[donhuff]

Heck, now I'm completely lost..........

I want to try a FCD for 357 magnum, .....what should I get? Give me a link to it on Midway site please, as I buy from them the most.

[Tuco Ramirez]

Don,

I do not believe you will be able to purchase them from anywhere other than direct from Lee.

Link to collet FCD RD is taking about. http://leeprecision.com/357-mag-custom- ... p-die.html


Link to standard carbide FCD. http://leeprecision.com/reloading-dies/ ... crimp-die/

These (2) FCD are nothing alike.

[Tuco Ramirez]

I should have read some more. The collet FCD states the following:

Non-cataloged Custom 357 Mag collet type Factory Crimp Die in 7/8 x 14" thread. This product is available for immediate shipment. This item is made to SAAMI specifications.

To me non-cataloged would mean direct from Lee only.

[MikeM]

Don,

At this time i'm trying to stick with TL as I don't want to invest in a lubesizer. I pan lube my blackpowder rounds but don't want to get into that for pistol.

Back to on topic. My .357 FCD should be here early this week. Can it be used for .38 special as well or will the case be too short to engage the collet? Or is it really not necessary as you probably won't be using slower burning powers in 38 special velocities/pressures so a heavy crimp isn't as critical.

Mike